Cortona vs. Montepulciano

Montepulciano is really no more wine-oriented than Cortona. Montalcino is primarily a wine town, but Montepulciano not so much.

I'd recommend contacting those great rentals and asking them about parking and how far the hike will be between car and accommodation. They can tell you much better than any of us can. If you can't get them to respond (not uncommon with Italian hotels) that might tell you something about whether you want to book there or not.

What they tell you may be what makes the decision for you of which town to stay in, or if you need to keep looking for an accommodation closer to the edge of town.

They are both great hill town destinations, but I would pick Cortona over Montepulciano...we stayed 2 nights in Cortona and did a day trip to Montepulciano (enroute from Montalcino to Spello). Great ambiance, good hotels and restaurants...easy to park outside the walls and walk less than 5 minutes to your stay (particulaly in early May).

We stayed in Montepulciano with our two older teenagers and loved it. The town was beautiful with many choice of restaurants and a variety of shops. We stay in a two bedroom apartment with a view that was amazing. I would reccommend the Politian apartments http://www.politian.com/apartments.htm. It is located at the top of the town and has parking right in front. The owner lives next door and is very helpful.

Just got back from Italy (still jet-lagged) & while I can't weigh in regarding Cortona, I can say that we visited Montepulciano & I loved it. We are not that much into wine but I found Montepulciano to be a very quaint town full of character. Hubby & I are really into amateur photography & we loved walking all of the back streets and snapping photos of the buildings, small lanes, etc. We visited quite a few hill towns and in my opinion, I enjoyed Montepulciano the most. We had a great lunch there and also liked the window-shopping. You probably can't go wrong with either of your choices because I talked to many people that loved Cortona but if you're inclined to rule Montepulciano out due to the wine factor, don't!

"Stacie: I would reccommend the Politian apartments http://www.politian.com/apartments.htm. It is located at the top of the town and has parking right in front. The owner lives next door and is very helpful."

Wow! That place looks great! I've bookmarked it as possible location for my trip next year!

You say it's located at the top of town. I've heard complaints about how tiring it is to get around Montepulciano due to the hills. How often did you dread the walk back up to your apartment after time out on the town?

We stayed in Montepulciano last year and loved it also, liked it better than Cortona. Montepulciano has a good bus system, so we took it back to the top to our hotel when we were too tired to walk. As Sheron said, it's an amazing place for taking photos. Some of my best are from Montepulciano.

In regard to staying at the top of the town...well it is a hill town and walking the hills is a part of the experience. We looked at is as walking off the pasta! Actually it was no more hilly than other hill towns and waking up to the view that we had was well worth it.

Stacie: "...well it is a hill town..."

Yes, and that's fine for a few days. Just wondering if the walk back home turns from a little exercise to a dreaded chore after a week of doing it, especially for older people or, let's face it, "American-sized" people...and I'm not referring to their height.

But if there's a bus or taxi option you can take if you're just not up to climbing the hill one more time, then there's no problem.

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful feedback. It really was helpful to me. I have read from others that Cortona is more expensive than Montepulciano for the exact same things. Anyway, we're setting up the rental for Montepulciano, with plans to visit Cortona. I'm told Snoopy's Gelato in Cortona can't be missed! :) I also appreciate your recommendation for www.politian.com. Beautiful!

"...we're setting up the rental for Montepulciano, with plans to visit Cortona..."

Though I've not used it, I've heard that there's a large public parking lot at the lower edge of Cortona with an escalator to carry you up into town. It's an UP escalator only. You have to walk down.

There is a good bus system in Montepulciano.

Good enough! I can walk down. : )